Survivor 45 Scoop – Week 4 Recap: Winners, Losers, Top Moments
Survivor 45 Scoop – Week 4 Recap: Winners, Losers, Top Moments
Host Jeff Probst, Dee Valladares, Julie Alley, Drew Basile, and Austin Li Coon. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS.
John Powell – GlobalTV.com
Another episode of Survivor and we have another quitter. It wounds my Survivor soul to see people wave the white flag and end their entire experience like that. I understand if they are physically or mentally unable to continue or if they must leave because of a family emergency back home like what Terry Deitz and Jenna Morasca experienced when they were on the island but to just surrender and bow out? That really doesn’t uphold the spirit of the world-wide Survivor franchise. One wonders if it might be time the producers reevaluated their casting choices and their vetting process going forward.
Host Jeff Probst had plenty to say about the situation too. He believes Sean didn’t own his ‘quit’.
Host Jeff Probst. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS.
“He’s a very clever guy. I’m going to be super clear: This was another engineered quit. And I ought to be honest, I think Sean tried to craft a narrative that worked for him because… Sean wasn’t exhausted. He wasn’t worried about food or bad sleeping. This was a sudden discovery, as in that exact moment at Tribal he realized, ‘Whoa, hang on. I think I got what I needed. I’m good, thanks so much.’ I realize — no disrespect to him — I realize he’s missing his family, but it’s not like you’re out there for another six months. It’s barely two more weeks,” said Probst on the On Fire podcast.
“I’m not beating up Sean,” he continued. “I really am not. If he found a deeper connection to his husband, that is ultimately what Survivor’s about — the experience. I’m just saying, owning it is also part of the experience.”
What also wounded me was this week’s tribal swap. Tribal switcheroos are fine when they are done to shake up the game but this season’s was because Lulu was sinking. The players on Reba and Belo had their strategic and more importantly their social games placed in jeopardy because one tribe couldn’t hang with the rest. It would have been more reasonable and equitable if Lulu was permitted to just dwindle down in the same way that Ulong did or perhaps rise to the challenge like other downward spiraling tribes have done in the past. It doesn’t seem right to penalize those who are doing well just because others aren’t. Then again, I don’t like restrictor plate auto racing for the very same reason but that’s just me.
Nicholas “Sifu” Alsup, Dee Valladares, Drew Basile, Julie Alley, Austin Li Coon, Janani “J” Krishnan-Jha, Kaleb Gebrewold, Sean Edwards, Emily Flippen, Brandon “Brando” Meyer, Bruce Perreault, Kendra McQuarrie, Katurah Topps, Jake O’Kane, and Kellie Nalbandian. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS.
At the end of the switch the new tribes are:
Reba: Sean Edwards, Dianelys “Dee” Valladares, Janani “J. Maya” Krishnan-Jha, Julie Alley and Nicholas “Sifu” Alsup.
Belo: Austin Li Coon, Brandon “Brando” Meyer, Drew Basile, Emily Flippen and Kendra McQuarrie.
Lulu: Bruce Perreault, Jake O’Kane, Kaleb Gebrewold, Katurah Topps and Kellie Nalbandian.
We saw how the breakdown worked for Reba. The original Reba members picked former Lulu member Sean off immediately. Probably to keep the tribe strong. Sifu appears to be on the outs with the dominant female alliance of Dee, J. Maya and Julie steering that ship. That alliance looks to be the strongest in the game.
At Belo, former Reba members Drew and Austin pulled in former Lulu tribemate Emily to form an alliance against original Belo members Brandon and Kendra. It is looking like Kendra and Brandon’s days are numbered there.
Finally, the new Lulu tribe is Bruce, Jake, Katurah and Kellie from the original Belo tribe with original Lulu member Kaleb in tow. Jake, Bruce and Kellie were the first to reel Kaleb in. Katuah’s persistent targeting of Bruce will probably see her leave soon if the rest really value Kaleb as a team player. Will Canadian Kaleb survive? Stay tuned, folks.
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Moment # 5: Bruce breaks down.
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Moment # 4: Sean’s bag is searched.
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Moment # 3: Emily enters into a new alliance.
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Moment # 2: Sean quits at tribal council.
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Moment # 1: The tribal switch.
Sean Edwards
Sean Edwards, Hannah Rose, and Brandon Donlon. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS.
What made the end of Sean’s game so frustrating is that he had a lot of potential as a player. Except for his average to mediocre challenge performances he could easily have excelled at the game if he just had some more time in it.
Strategic Gameplay
Sabiyah and Sean were running the Lulu tribe. Sean was very clever and could have made it further if circumstances allowed for that.
Rating: 3 / 5
Social Gameplay
Sean Edwards, Brandon Donlon, Janani “J” Krishnan-Jha, and Julie Alley. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS.
Sean had decent bonds at Lulu and Reba had nothing negative to say about the positive energy he brought.
Rating: 3 / 5
Entertainment Value
He had all the makings of a drama-filled, successful Survivor if he had perhaps fought harder to stay.
Rating: 3 / 5
Final Rating: 9 / 15
Who played it cool and who proved themselves to be a fool? Every week John Powell makes his picks for the worst and best players of the week.
Her obsession with targeting Bruce will probably be her downfall. She is out of step with her tribemates.
Just like last episode we have even more evidence that Sifu is only part of the Reba alliance as long as they keep winning challenges.
He quit on himself.
Bruce was quick to see the writing on the wall and that he needed Kaleb to move forward.
Like what happened at the new Lulu and Bruce pulling in Kaleb, Emily, Austin and Drew came together forming a strong alliance.
It looks like she guided Reba back on track to target Sean and not the physical powerhouse Sifu.
